Salmonella Poisoning Could Make Rebound

April 05, 1985|By Jon Van, Science writer.

The salmonella food poisoning that has sent more than 1,200 Illinois residents to seek medical help could cause more problems weeks after people think they are well again, health officials warned Thursday.

That strain of Salmonella typhimurium bacteria contaminating milk sold throughout northern and central Illinois is resistant to antibiotics, health officials confirmed. A person who feels fine but takes antibiotics several weeks from now for any reason could cause vestiges of the salmonella infection to flare up again, Dr. Scott Holmberg, an epidemiologist with the federal Centers for Disease Control, said Thursday.

``Most people are probably starting to feel better now because the bacteria is mostly purged from their systems,`` Holmberg said. ``But they still have some of it in their intestines, and they will continue to excrete it for several weeks.``

On average, it takes an adult five weeks to rid his system entirely of the bacteria, and it takes a child longer. During that time, taking any form of penicillin or tetracycline could be a medical mistake, Holmberg said, because the antibiotic would kill most bacteria that normally live in the human intestine, leaving only the antibiotic-resistant salmonella to make a thriving comeback.

``It is very important for anyone who is infected in the current outbreak to inform his doctor of that fact during the next several months,`` Holmberg said. ``Ordinarily, salmonella bacteria aren`t resistant to antibiotics, but these are, and a physician should know about it before he prescribes antibiotics.``

Latest figures on the outbreak reported by Illinois health officials include 1,263 reported cases in 18 counties and 30 cases reported in Indiana, 20 in Iowa and 6 in Michigan.

Further tests Thursday of 2 percent fat Bluebrook milk processed in Melrose Park and placed in gallon cardboard cartons with an expiration date of March 29 again confirm that it is the source of contamination, said Mary Huck, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Public Health Department.

Representatives of Jewel Foods, which owns the processing plant and which marketed the milk; the state health agency; the federal Centers for Disease Control; and the federal Food and Drug Administration continued Thursday to investigate the plant in search of the contamination source.

More lawsuits were filed against Jewel in Cook County Circuit Court on Thursday, bringing the total to seven, including three suits that seek class action status to represent all people injured by drinking the milk.

Also Thursday, Circuit Judge William Quinlan issued a protective order at the request of one of the plaintiffs, Kim Lightfoot, requiring Jewel Foods to preserve all of the 2 percent fat Bluebrook milk in cartons, both opened and unopened, from the dates March 29, 30 and 31. The judge ordered that the cartons be made available to the plaintiff for random samplings and testings. The order also requires the company to produce any and all records regarding the production of the milk.

Salmonella symptoms include abdominal cramps and pain, fever, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and headaches. Though rarely fatal, salmonella can be serious for infants or the elderly who may suffer from dehydration.

The number of people affected by the outbreak is likely to be in the thousands. Doctors say that many people who may have been infected by the bacteria may not have experienced symptoms severe enough to send them to a physician and therefore won`t be included in the reported cases.

Salmonella is infectious between humans, which means that contact with someone who has the disease can infect another person. People living in a household with someone who has the food poisoning are cautioned to wash their hands regularly, especially before eating or preparing food and after caring for an infected person, especially after changing a baby`s diapers.

State officials say that they usually get 2,000 to 3,000 reports of salmonella food poisoning annually and that this outbreak is the largest in Illinois history and among the largest in the history of public health record- keeping.